to assign / to forgive / to miss
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to assign / award
To allocate or award something (e.g., a prize, a contract, a grade, a task) to someone.
Die Stadt hat den Auftrag für den Bau der neuen Brücke an eine lokale Firma vergeben.
The city awarded the contract for building the new bridge to a local company.
to forgive
To no longer hold a mistake or bad deed against someone; to forgive.
Er hat sich entschuldigt, aber ich kann ihm einfach nicht vergeben.
He apologized, but I simply can't forgive him.
to be taken
To be in a committed romantic relationship. Usually used in the past participle ('vergeben sein' — to be taken).
Ich würde sie gerne nach einem Date fragen, aber ich glaube, sie ist schon vergeben.
I would like to ask her on a date, but I think she's already taken.
to miss
To fail to use or lose a chance or opportunity.
Der Stürmer hat eine große Torchance vergeben.
The striker missed a great scoring chance.
to be taken / booked
To already be occupied or reserved. Often refers to seats or appointments.
Leider sind für die Vorstellung am Samstag schon alle Plätze vergeben.
Unfortunately, all seats for the Saturday performance are already taken.
'Vergeben' (to assign / to forgive / to miss) is an inseparable verb. The prefix 'ver-' remains firmly attached to the verb stem 'geben' (to give) in all sentence forms and tenses.
Die Jury vergibt den Preis morgen Abend.
The jury will award the prize tomorrow evening.
The object of the verb reveals the meaning. 'Einen Auftrag vergeben' (to award a contract) means to assign or allocate, 'einen Fehler vergeben' (to forgive a mistake) means to forgive, and 'eine Chance vergeben' (to miss a chance) means to miss something.
Die Universität vergibt Stipendien an begabte Studierende.
The university awards scholarships to talented students.
When 'vergeben' means 'verzeihen' (to forgive), the person one forgives is always in the dative. The structure is: subject + forgives + [person in the dative] + [thing in the accusative].
Sie konnte ihm seine Lüge nicht vergeben.
She couldn't forgive him for his lie.
In the meaning 'in einer Beziehung sein' (to be in a relationship), almost exclusively the form 'vergeben sein' (to be taken) is used. The verb 'vergeben' alone is not used here.
Er ist seit fünf Jahren glücklich vergeben.
He has been happily taken for five years.
In the meaning 'zuteilen' (to assign), 'vergeben' is often combined with official things. Typical phrases are: 'einen Auftrag vergeben' (to award a contract), 'einen Preis vergeben' (to award a prize), 'eine Note vergeben' (to give a grade), or 'einen Termin vergeben' (to schedule an appointment).
Der Professor hat für die mündliche Prüfung sehr gute Noten vergeben.
The professor gave very good grades for the oral exam.
When it is about losing an opportunity, 'vergeben' is often used with words like 'Chance' (chance), 'Gelegenheit' (opportunity), or 'Möglichkeit' (possibility). In sports, 'einen Elfmeter vergeben' (to miss a penalty) is also common.
Diese einmalige Gelegenheit dürfen wir auf keinen Fall vergeben.
We must not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity under any circumstances.
Similar to relationships, with seats or appointments the form 'vergeben sein' (to be taken/booked) is usually used to express that something is already occupied.
Ich wollte noch eine Karte kaufen, aber es waren schon alle Plätze vergeben.
I wanted to buy another ticket, but all the seats were already taken.
to distribute / spread
Verteilen treats several tasks as a whole that is assigned to different people. Vergeben focuses more on assigning a specific task to one person. When organizing the team as a whole, verteilen is the better choice; for an individual decision, vergeben is more appropriate.
Die Leiterin vergibt die Aufgabe der Kundenbefragung an Nina.
The team leader assigns the customer survey to Nina.
Die Leiterin verteilt alle Aufgaben des Projekts im Team.
The team leader distributes all the project tasks among the team members.
